Gatecrash is upon us. I originally was going to attend a prerelease at Xanadu, but due to some miscommunication, missed the start time and went to Gotham Comics instead.
It turned out that the event was full from pre-registration, so I was put on the waiting list and would get to participate if someone did not show up. It turns out that ONE person was a no-show, so I got in and played the only guild box left, Orzhov.
So, I ended up winning after five rounds, to the dismay of others. I did have some very nice tea from the cafe next door.
Nightveil Specter was amazing in limited. It let me 1) not miss land drops and 2) draw their own threats to play against them. (by tapping their land). Other than that, I did not really have any bomb rares. (Another Orzhov player got Obzedat and a Gruul player got Domri Rade)
I found Extort to be quite good, extorting for 3 or 4 some turns felt like cheating. Also, Cipher is pretty strong, despite every spell seeming to be overcosted...
All in all, the things I am most excited for in Gatecrash are the lands. We now have the full suite of shocklands at our disposal in Standard. The creatures/spells/mechanics do not seem to be a good fit for constructed standard. Extort and Cipher seem to be very slow.
I am on the fence about evolve, I certainly do not want to drop a 1/1 on turn 4 and hope for the best.
Bloodrush seems a Limited only mechanic, as long as people continue to play instant-speed removal.
Battallion seems like it actually might see some standard play, especially in Boros decks with Frontline Medic and "Lightning-Helix" Firemane Avenger. But I feel like I would rather be dropping Falkenrath Aristocrat or Hellrider on turn 4 as opposed to Firemane Avenger.
The Primordials are interesting and will definitely see some play in Commander (especially in my cube).
No cards really stick out as "absolutely powerful" although there are some very obvious "haterade" cards. Frontline medic seems to be designed to be a nice hard counter to Sphinx's Revelation, Bonfire of the Damned, Rakdos's Return, Syncopate, and Entreat the Angels(?).
"Merciless Eviction" seems to be the answer to all of the "indestructible" effects that seem to have permeated this Block, but it does cost 4WB...and Terminus can also get the job done.
Well, enough about Gatecrash.
I have finalized the card color combinations for my Commander cube. The Cube currently has 1000 cards (not including Generals) and is broken down as follows:
110 of each of the 5 mono-colors (550 total)
5 each of the 5 shards and 5 wedges (50 total)
20 each of the 10 guilds (200 total)
5 5-color (5 total)
140 colorless cards (140 total)
55 lands (55 total)
I almost have all of the cards collected. The two thousand sleeves are on order as no shop had two thousand of any one sleeve color in stock. (1000 for the cards, 1000 more for basic land).
So, my plan is to playtest the cube and see if some cards need to be added or need to go.
My hope is that I can find a place to post the 1000 card list that is both readable and easy to navigate so that I can get input on the contents. I will work on this.
Until next time...
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Commander Cube
So, I read an inspiring article on SCG.
http://www.starcitygames.com/article/25460_Dear-Azami-ndash-Commander-Cube.html
I am on board with this idea of a Commander Cube; it is really exciting to me. I have started the journey to make one of my own. In this first installment of posts on this subject, I want to introduce the Commanders.
The five mono-color commanders:
Red - Godo, Bandit Warlord
Blue - Meloku the Clouded Mirror
Black - Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
White - Kemba, Kha Regent
Green - Azusa, Lost but Seeking
The Ten Pairs:
Azorius - Grand Arbiter Augustine IV
Boros - Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Dimir - Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
Golgari - Sisters of Stone Death
Gruul - Radha, Heir to Keld
Izzet - Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
Orzhov - Obzedat, Ghost Council
Rakdos - Rakdos, Lord of Riots
Selesnya - Tolsimir Wolfblood
Simic - Prime Speaker Zegana
The five Shards and the five Wedges:
Bant - Rafiq of the Many
Esper - Sharuum the Hegemon
Grixis - Sedris, the Traitor King
Jund - Kresh the Bloodbraided
Naya - Rith, the Awakener
RWB - Tariel, Reckoner of Souls
GUR - Riku of Two Reflections
RWU - Ruhan of the Fomori
Junk - Karador, Ghost Chieftan
BUG - Damia, Sage of Stone
The 5-Colors
Sliver Queen
Cromat
Child of Alara
This comes out to 28 commanders. Thoughts and suggestions are appreciated and welcomed.
Until next time...
http://www.starcitygames.com/article/25460_Dear-Azami-ndash-Commander-Cube.html
I am on board with this idea of a Commander Cube; it is really exciting to me. I have started the journey to make one of my own. In this first installment of posts on this subject, I want to introduce the Commanders.
The five mono-color commanders:
Red - Godo, Bandit Warlord
Blue - Meloku the Clouded Mirror
Black - Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
White - Kemba, Kha Regent
Green - Azusa, Lost but Seeking
The Ten Pairs:
Azorius - Grand Arbiter Augustine IV
Boros - Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
Dimir - Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
Golgari - Sisters of Stone Death
Gruul - Radha, Heir to Keld
Izzet - Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
Orzhov - Obzedat, Ghost Council
Rakdos - Rakdos, Lord of Riots
Selesnya - Tolsimir Wolfblood
Simic - Prime Speaker Zegana
The five Shards and the five Wedges:
Bant - Rafiq of the Many
Esper - Sharuum the Hegemon
Grixis - Sedris, the Traitor King
Jund - Kresh the Bloodbraided
Naya - Rith, the Awakener
RWB - Tariel, Reckoner of Souls
GUR - Riku of Two Reflections
RWU - Ruhan of the Fomori
Junk - Karador, Ghost Chieftan
BUG - Damia, Sage of Stone
The 5-Colors
Sliver Queen
Cromat
Child of Alara
This comes out to 28 commanders. Thoughts and suggestions are appreciated and welcomed.
Until next time...
Friday, January 18, 2013
TNM 1/17/13
I went to Beyond Comics in Frederick, MD for a four-round standard event.
I was kind of lazy all week and decided to once again take OmniDoorThragFire (ODTF).
Last time I played it I noticed that I was losing game one a TON of times to Aggro. To compensate for this, I took two Terminus out of the sideboard and swapped them with two Sphinx's Revelations from the main deck.
Round 1: Rich with B/W budget homebreak aggro.
Rich had some terrible cards, I felt kind of bad about our games. In game one, I cast Supreme Verdict, Terminus, then Griselbrand and attacked for the win.
In game two, I hit him with Door to Nothingness.
2-0
Round 2: [Name Withheld] Esper Walkers.
This match was pretty awesome, but my opponents mistakes gave me the game. My opponent played a LOT of countermagic, even countering my turn 2 "farseek". He got out Sorin and Jace and began going to work on my life total (slowly, I admit). He got out Lingering Souls and was building a pretty impressive board. His doom came when I activated my Alchemist's Refuge on his turn when he declared a lethal attack, I cast Supreme Verdict. He flashes in a Snapcaster Mage, targeting Dissipate and casts Dissipate on Supreme Verdict. I simply say, "resolves". We both sit in silence for several moments. I flip Supreme Verdict around, place my index finger on it and slowly slide it towards my opponent. It is then that he realizes his error. I flash in Increasing Ambition to get Door to Nothingness, which I also flash in. I show him the door on my following turn.
He is incredibly embarrassed by his "countering" of Supreme Verdict. I assure him that I will not tell anyone and that we can just say that he got mana-screwed in game one. (Hence, I withheld his name)
In game two, things start going kind of the same, but my opponent is saving his counterspells for real spells and letting my ramp spells through. He gets up to a pretty sweet board state and has 10 points of lethal power on the board as well as a Sorin (at 8 loyalty) and a Jace. With counterspell backup (out of my sideboard) I play another sideboard card, Planar Cleansing. I wipe out Sorin, Jace, Runechanter's Pike, and five tokens. He rebuilds his board state almost immediately in his following turn, casting both a Sorin and a Jace. I play Door to Nothingness, and he does not have enough mana to cast Dissipate.
2-0
Round 3: Sean with RWB midrange-aggro.
Sean played Rakdos Keyrune in game one which got around all of my removal. He was able to use it to deliver the beats to me. I sided in my lifegain package of Rhox Faithmender and Thragtusks. It did not matter in game two as Sean did not get any black land. But in game three, I was able to get up to 41 life on turn 4, I had two more Thragtusks in hand and the crowd convinced Sean to concede.
2-1
Round 4: Will with Mono-Red Aggro.
Will and I were both 3-0 and decided to ID, split and play for the Promo Magmaquake.
In game one, will only got out two lands, when I killed one with Nicol Bolas, he conceded.
In game two, Will got out some early beats with an Ash Zealot that he enchanted with two "Volcanic Strengths(?)" I got out a Faithmender and was able to Fog twice to stem the bleeding. I then cast Nicol Bolas and stole the Ash Zealot.
2-0
BONUS ROUND 5: David with B/G Pack Rat.
David had been watching the tournament and wanted a crack at me. His deck consisted of Sluiceway Scorpion, Pack Rat, Deathrite Shaman, Dreg Mangler, Abrupt Decay, Ultimate Price, and similar cards. His deck was very aggro-centric, but without the speed of a typical aggro deck. Although he was able to hit me for damage, I was never really in any danger of losing. I ramped until I found a card to kill him with. Game one it was Angel of Serenity and Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker. In game two I showed him the Door.
OmniDoorThragFire is insanely fun to play (although I have not actually cast Worldfire yet).
Until next time.
I was kind of lazy all week and decided to once again take OmniDoorThragFire (ODTF).
Last time I played it I noticed that I was losing game one a TON of times to Aggro. To compensate for this, I took two Terminus out of the sideboard and swapped them with two Sphinx's Revelations from the main deck.
Round 1: Rich with B/W budget homebreak aggro.
Rich had some terrible cards, I felt kind of bad about our games. In game one, I cast Supreme Verdict, Terminus, then Griselbrand and attacked for the win.
In game two, I hit him with Door to Nothingness.
2-0
Round 2: [Name Withheld] Esper Walkers.
This match was pretty awesome, but my opponents mistakes gave me the game. My opponent played a LOT of countermagic, even countering my turn 2 "farseek". He got out Sorin and Jace and began going to work on my life total (slowly, I admit). He got out Lingering Souls and was building a pretty impressive board. His doom came when I activated my Alchemist's Refuge on his turn when he declared a lethal attack, I cast Supreme Verdict. He flashes in a Snapcaster Mage, targeting Dissipate and casts Dissipate on Supreme Verdict. I simply say, "resolves". We both sit in silence for several moments. I flip Supreme Verdict around, place my index finger on it and slowly slide it towards my opponent. It is then that he realizes his error. I flash in Increasing Ambition to get Door to Nothingness, which I also flash in. I show him the door on my following turn.
He is incredibly embarrassed by his "countering" of Supreme Verdict. I assure him that I will not tell anyone and that we can just say that he got mana-screwed in game one. (Hence, I withheld his name)
In game two, things start going kind of the same, but my opponent is saving his counterspells for real spells and letting my ramp spells through. He gets up to a pretty sweet board state and has 10 points of lethal power on the board as well as a Sorin (at 8 loyalty) and a Jace. With counterspell backup (out of my sideboard) I play another sideboard card, Planar Cleansing. I wipe out Sorin, Jace, Runechanter's Pike, and five tokens. He rebuilds his board state almost immediately in his following turn, casting both a Sorin and a Jace. I play Door to Nothingness, and he does not have enough mana to cast Dissipate.
2-0
Round 3: Sean with RWB midrange-aggro.
Sean played Rakdos Keyrune in game one which got around all of my removal. He was able to use it to deliver the beats to me. I sided in my lifegain package of Rhox Faithmender and Thragtusks. It did not matter in game two as Sean did not get any black land. But in game three, I was able to get up to 41 life on turn 4, I had two more Thragtusks in hand and the crowd convinced Sean to concede.
2-1
Round 4: Will with Mono-Red Aggro.
Will and I were both 3-0 and decided to ID, split and play for the Promo Magmaquake.
In game one, will only got out two lands, when I killed one with Nicol Bolas, he conceded.
In game two, Will got out some early beats with an Ash Zealot that he enchanted with two "Volcanic Strengths(?)" I got out a Faithmender and was able to Fog twice to stem the bleeding. I then cast Nicol Bolas and stole the Ash Zealot.
2-0
BONUS ROUND 5: David with B/G Pack Rat.
David had been watching the tournament and wanted a crack at me. His deck consisted of Sluiceway Scorpion, Pack Rat, Deathrite Shaman, Dreg Mangler, Abrupt Decay, Ultimate Price, and similar cards. His deck was very aggro-centric, but without the speed of a typical aggro deck. Although he was able to hit me for damage, I was never really in any danger of losing. I ramped until I found a card to kill him with. Game one it was Angel of Serenity and Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker. In game two I showed him the Door.
OmniDoorThragFire is insanely fun to play (although I have not actually cast Worldfire yet).
Until next time.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
TNM 1/3/13 plus others.
Happy New Year everyone.
I took Omni-Door Thrag-Fire (ODTF) to Thursday night Magic being held at Beyond Comics in Fredrick, MD. I am kind of new to playing ODTF, so I came in with low expectations.
Round 1: Daniel with Mono Green Aggro.
In game one I was absolutely demolished by creatures. After my sideboard I was able to get a bunch of life and card advantage based on the work on Rhox Faithmender and Sphinx's Revelation.
2-1
Round 2: Aaron with Mono Red Aggro.
In what would become a theme, I lost game one by getting beat down by creatures. Again, my sideboard saved me with added removal and life gain. Activating Kessig Wolf-Run on Rhox Faithmender is incredibly rewarding. Lol, gain 22 life. I did this in both games.
2-1
Round 3: Charles with Mono Red Aggro
So, lost game one to creature beats. I feel like I should make some main deck changes that more reflect my deck after sideboard. I unleashed savage control beats in games two and three. Rhox faithmender and Kessig Wolf-Run were involved, feels like I am playing a combo deck.
2-1
Round 4: Gabe with Red/Black Aggro.
There was not much to this game as I think I cast one or two spells before the speed of Gabe's deck overwhelmed me.
0-2
So, I went 3-1 and despite losing round 4, I actually won because there was no undefeated player and I had the best tiebreakers. Fortune to ODTF!
There was an EDH tournament scheduled for FNM, but the event was cancelled without warning or explanation by the store owner (who did leave a note on the door explaining that they were closed for a minor emergency). This is actually good because I was not able to get all of the cards that I wanted for my newest EDH degeneracy. (Which I might explain in another blog post).
Until next time.
I took Omni-Door Thrag-Fire (ODTF) to Thursday night Magic being held at Beyond Comics in Fredrick, MD. I am kind of new to playing ODTF, so I came in with low expectations.
Round 1: Daniel with Mono Green Aggro.
In game one I was absolutely demolished by creatures. After my sideboard I was able to get a bunch of life and card advantage based on the work on Rhox Faithmender and Sphinx's Revelation.
2-1
Round 2: Aaron with Mono Red Aggro.
In what would become a theme, I lost game one by getting beat down by creatures. Again, my sideboard saved me with added removal and life gain. Activating Kessig Wolf-Run on Rhox Faithmender is incredibly rewarding. Lol, gain 22 life. I did this in both games.
2-1
Round 3: Charles with Mono Red Aggro
So, lost game one to creature beats. I feel like I should make some main deck changes that more reflect my deck after sideboard. I unleashed savage control beats in games two and three. Rhox faithmender and Kessig Wolf-Run were involved, feels like I am playing a combo deck.
2-1
Round 4: Gabe with Red/Black Aggro.
There was not much to this game as I think I cast one or two spells before the speed of Gabe's deck overwhelmed me.
0-2
So, I went 3-1 and despite losing round 4, I actually won because there was no undefeated player and I had the best tiebreakers. Fortune to ODTF!
There was an EDH tournament scheduled for FNM, but the event was cancelled without warning or explanation by the store owner (who did leave a note on the door explaining that they were closed for a minor emergency). This is actually good because I was not able to get all of the cards that I wanted for my newest EDH degeneracy. (Which I might explain in another blog post).
Until next time.
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